Page 63 of I Can't Even

“That’s the least of our worries right now,” she said, eyes haunted, as she held out her phone for all of us to see. “Look.”

She twisted and placed the phone on the table, and I saw the message on the screen from the app she’d been using to date before we’d started what we had going.

That’s when I saw the username. FarmerJoe122

FarmerJoe122:

How do you feel about coffee?

My stomach squeezed, and I was already reaching for my phone before I’d consciously told myself to.

I had the phone in my hand, and Tobin’s name pulled up in seconds.

He answered in two rings.

“Yeah?” he grumbled.

“Ellodie got contacted by the Farmer Joe guy again.” I murmured quietly.

There was a moment of silence and then he said, “I’m not at my work computer. Can you tell me her login information and her password?”

I heard a woman grumbling in the background, and knew he had to be with his wife.

Jesus, the man was investigating a serial killer, and she had a problem with someone interrupting their time?

God, I hated her.

I wish Tobin had never agreed to marry her. Or hell, never agreed to have a date with her.

I gave him the information as Ellodie relayed it to me, and then he was humming softly for a few seconds before saying, “Okay, I’m hooked up. Go ahead and tell her to engage. Don’t make any plans. Just tell her to get to know him.”

I wanted her to do nothing of the sort.

But, upon hearing Tobin’s words through the speaker, Ellodie reached for the phone.

Hollis beat her to it, though.

She started typing furiously, her face a mask of concentration. She typed for what felt like forever before nodding, then hitting send.

Then she placed the phone back onto the table.

Ellodiecandriveatractor:

Hi, I love coffee. But it has to have lots of cream and sugar. But I don’t do coffee with strangers, I’m sorry. What do you do for a living? Where are you from? What’s your favorite color? Do you wear jeans a lot? What’s your favorite number? What time do you go to bed?

“That’s a good start,” I admitted. “If he answers any of that truthfully, it could help locate him.”

“All right,” Tobin said. “Yeah, good start. And I agree with Quaid, if he answers any of it truthfully, it could definitely help locate him. Or pinpoint a few things about him.”

Farmer Joe didn’t answer, though.

He stayed silent.

“Wonder if he knows it’s not me?” Ellodie asked, but then sighed. “I have to get back to work.”

She stood up and bent down, pressing her lips to my own.

“Do you want to keep my phone?” she asked.

---